On a brilliantly sunny Sunday (which coincided with Car-Free Sunday), we carried out our mission to spread the important message of safe cycling through the production of 3 online videos that deliver key tips for cyclists who ride on the road.

VIDEO: Road Incidents

Whether you are a new cyclist or a seasoned rider, this video series is a great way to pick up or refresh your knowledge of common road safety rules for cyclists.

First scene of the day: Filming on a quieter stretch of road with our volunteer cyclist and host, Megan.

The day started early for us - as we planned to start our filming when there's less traffic in the morning. The day started even earlier for the cyclists who were involved in the Car Free Sunday event, who rode all the way from City Hall to our location at Bukit Batok right after settling the events at flag-off. #RESPECT

VIDEO: Best Practices

Coordinating the filming with live traffic was a challenging affair, as our first scene involved tips on how to handle buses and bus stops. But that was just a warm-up for what is to come...

Major Mid-Day Challenge:
Filming a cycling scene involving a peloton and lane changes, at a busy traffic junction.

Hmm indeed.

Our team of cheery volunteer cyclists waiting to take to the road, peloton style.

In order to realistically demonstrate the interaction between cyclists and vehicles, we needed to stage some of the key scenes with actual traffic and drivers.

This involved a fair bit of choreography and coordination work, between our driver (who paced the cyclists and managed the vehicle traffic), cyclists (including a peloton), and our cameras.

From our earlier location recce, we had identified a residential area with a good variety of traffic conditions within the vicinity - this allowed us to carry out our filming efficiently and with the cyclists easily riding themselves to the different spots.

Each take had to be carefully timed with traffic, our cyclists and our cameras. However, since we are demonstrating road safety practices and working with safety-conscious riders, the actual scene re-creation was a smooth and safe one!

Movie magic at work - recreating an accident with some camera trickery and acting skills.

On top of demonstrating safe riding practices, tips on how to respond during an accident are equally important. Mad props to our cycling talents with their (newly-discovered?) stunt driving and stunt cycling skills for being able to put up such dramatic re-enactments that actually got passers-by concerned, while entertaining the filming team (who had to hold back our chuckling).

Our "stuntmen" for the day! Stunt Driver Kent and Stunt Cyclist Tobias watching the playback of their scene.

Accident re-enactment so dramatic that we've even gotten the attention of passing drivers, one of whom was so warm-hearted, they were almost going to call for the ambulance! #FaithInHumanity

We also enlisted the help of two cyclists from the community to be featured as the hosts of this video series. A big shout out to Hing Siong and Megan for volunteering to be our presenter-hosts! We had a great time working with you both and you both look and sound great on camera.

VIDEO: Pre-Ride Checklist

Our host, Hing Siong, getting ready for his piece to camera scene.

Sun, camera and action! First-time presenter, Hing Siong, who gladly stepped up to the task.

Behind the Scenes of our Video Production on Cycling Safety.

We would like to extend our appreciation to all the cyclists who volunteered their time, energy and bicycles for the filming on a warm and sunny Sunday. The video series was truly a joint effort among cycling enthusiasts (groups and individuals) who have been working tirelessly to transform our cycling culture, landscape and infrastructure - and we are glad to be able to do our part via this production!

Do make sure to stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes stories with Intuitive Films!

A school dedicated to applied learning... A passionate team of staff working hard behind the scenes... This is the SIT recruitment video that we've done recently. Check it out!

Within every good university, there is a large network of education and administrative staff working diligently behind the scenes to make sure that the students are succinctly bridged from academia into the real world. Singapore Institute of Technology is one such university, which specialises in introducing industry practice early in their university education.

As a fast-growing institution, they are looking to expand their staff across the board. So we were approached to produce a recruitment video to reach out to potential applicants over their online career portal, as well as their LinkedIn page.

Student Life Manager Vicky Kheo in front of the camera and ready to shoot

The aim of the video was to create an authentic and professional picture of the university through the experiences and testimonials of university staff of different departments. We uncovered genuinely passionate individuals during our pre-interview process and discovered why they were able to thrive in the challenging and fast-changing environment of a young university.

Wait, so the staff are the ones working behind the scenes. We made a video about them, and then now this blog is behind the scenes of the people behind the scenes.

Mind. Blown.

We have to go deeper.

Here's a fun fact: This shoot was done over two years. We're not even kidding.

Another fact? It was done in two months, December and January 🙂

Working through the scheduling and various arrangements, as well as the number of people we had to cover, the filming of the six profiles were done over three days, so that we can spend as much time with each interviewee as possible to elicit their best and most authentic responses.

Each staff member was from a different department and had different roles within the university. This meant more opportunity for us to capture different types of uni life at work! Visually, different types of settings keep the aesthetics varied and exciting. We were able to capture lecture halls, lab sessions, and various student and faculty life as well.

In this short video that's distributed mainly online and over social media, with one main compilation video and individual profile videos, we captured as complete a look as possible into campus life for the staff and faculty of SIT.

Intuitive would like to thank SIT's team for assisting us with the liaising of the locations and meeting up with the profiles. We would also like to thank the various SIT staff and faculty who generously gave us their time to participate in this production.

We would like to wish SIT the best as they grow even bigger, better and bolder - while looking forward to their brand new integrated Punggol Campus in the coming years!

Traditional comedy written with a local twist.Ancient music performed by a youthful ensemble.Through this project, we immersed ourselves in the rich world of Chinese culture and heritage.

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) 新加坡华族文化中心 is an organisation dedicated to promoting traditional Chinese culture and heritage locally. This year, it organised the inaugural Chinese Cultural Contribution Awards, which is the first of its kind to celebrate and honour both deserving individuals and groups.

We were humbled to be engaged by SCCC to produce their first ever award videos, as we have been recommended by our happy clients in the arts and cultural scene.

Rather than fitting the award recipients into generic visuals and storylines, we wanted to create an authentic representation of them and their craft in the bite-sized video formats for the award ceremony.

Therefore, we dedicated more time to work on researching their backgrounds, talking to them, understanding what they do, their inspirations and their aspirations. From there, we began shaping the two videos.

At the same time, we wanted to feature the award recipients in an environment that they are able to be most authentic and for the Group Award, bring in the different faces who have contributed to the organisation's success. This brought our filming to the office of Han Lao Da and the quaint practice spaces of Siong Leng Musical Association.

PRODUCTION DAY 1: HAN LAO DA 韩劳达

The award's individual recipient, Han Lao Da 韩劳达, is also our first profile to be filmed. He is most notable for localising Chinese crosstalk 相声, which originated as a China culture art form.

The video production began at Mr Han's base of operations - the office of his language centre. As we dedicated a full day of filming with each recipient, we had more time to capture visually appealing scenes and to flesh out their stories.

Our guerrilla filming moment down at the neighbourhood coffee shop, where our profile is a regular. Very apt for someone who is known for adapting the crosstalk art form to life in Singapore!

To capture the essence of Han Lao Da's speciality in localising crosstalk, we devised this scene where we brought him down to the neighbourhood coffee shop to do a run and gun style filming. This definitely hooked the interest of a few passers-by (as well as the coffee stall auntie who was wondering why we needed to go back and forth to her stall a few times).

As the award results were embargoed until the day of the ceremony, we could not disclose much to the curious crowd.

Dramatic hero tracking shot with Han Lao Da in front of a large glass window

Working with the talented Mr Han was definitely a treat. As a literary veteran, he was witty, articulate and quick on his feet; improvising his script on the spot and adding his personal touch. It was delightful watching him deliver his interview in his own unique style.

We also had the pleasure of filming a live crosstalk segment with two local powerhouse actors, Yang Shi Bin and Johnny Ng. We all had a great time chuckling at the jokes in their performance.

PRODUCTION DAY 2: SIONG LENG MUSICAL ASSOCIATION 湘灵音乐社社

Siong Leng Musical Association 湘灵音乐社社 was the recipient of the group award. They were recognised for their contributions to reviving the traditional Nan Yin 南音 music, which was listed as a Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2009.

More guerrilla filming on the streets of Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore.

Insta-worthy? Here is us at the entrance of Siong Leng Musical Association, capturing the facade that's full of character.

Siong Leng Musical Association is a thriving group of teachers and youth students turned full-time performers. Through the conversations that we had with them, you could tell that they are all very passionate about producing Nan Yin music, as well as to broaden its appeal to the younger audiences, which is key to passing on the torch for this art form.

The nightmare of all filming crew. STAIRS.

Siong Leng's interior was rich with its history, displayed in countless articles, awards, and clippings of past events. After getting a good cardio workout moving our filming equipment upstairs, we were pumped with excitement to capture them in this place full of memory and inspiration for the future.

The youth team was buzzing with energy and treated us to some delightful Nan Yin music (which we filmed with great gusto!), as well as inspiring soundbites on their thoughts on the future of Nan Yin music.

Capturing the youth team who specially put up a live performance for us.

We are extremely honoured to be able to work with Han Lao Da and Siong Leng Musical Association, and we congratulate them for winning this distinguished award!

We would also like to thank Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre for being very supportive and committed to working alongside us in getting the videos ready for the launch, even over non-office hours. It was a crazy busy stretch as they prepared for the big event and it paid off with a spectacular launch celebration. We thank you for your hard work & like to send our best wishes!

Looking out to the horizon and beyond - from one of the apartment units at The Glades.

The moment you look up, you see the skies, unobstructed in all of its vast glory. Clouds drifting lazily along. You see a plane passing by. It’s heading for a destination unknownand soon disappears into the clouds. The skies continue to extend out for miles ahead, past the red roofed dwellings and pristine white apartment blocks.

From where you are, they look like miniature figures, densely placed yet seemingly arbitrary. The sky finally meets the sea, the eternal parallel forward into the horizon. In that moment, it is almost impossible to relish in the view and to admire this moment for a little while longer.

Too dramatic? Well, you just have to experience it for yourself.

AN EXCLUSIVE INVITATION TO THE GLADES AT TANAH MERAH

Running through the day's shot list on the beautifully landscaped grounds of The Glades.

I had the golden opportunity to do so during our video production for Keppel Land earlier in April, as part of their efforts to show appreciation for their staff this Labour Day.

As an ongoing video partner with Keppel Land, we sought to find out more upon receiving the brief, so as to best bring out the heartfelt message they'd like to convey with this video, that will be distributed over social media.

The focus of this particular video was on the staff of The Glades condominium. Also known as the Customer Focus Unit, this customer-facing team works tirelessly to provide the best services and quality of housing for homeowners before they receive their properties.

We were introduced to two of the staff members, who are featured in this video, and treated to delightful anecdotes and heartwarming stories of their experiences in serving the residents.

Enhancing the well-designed showroom with some lighting techniques for our interview setup, while keeping the look natural.

Let us pull back the metaphorical curtains, or in this case, the showroom curtains, and give you a sneak peek of what went down in our production shoot!

Our filming location was of course set in The Glades condominium. The filming took us across the property, into several residential units, showrooms as well as their clubhouse.

Everything about this place is totally #housegoals, beautiful down to every corner and detail, tastefully curated and full of character.

Filming one of our featured interviewees from the loft.

Seriously, it’s hard not to do a double take and wish that this was my very own home!

For the uninitiated, filming equipment can be quite heavy-duty and rugged. Yet at the same time, certain gear requires the most delicate of attention. So in any given shoot, every crew member is always mindful to treat each piece of equipment with the respect and care required.

However, in a high-end showroom like the one at The Glades, we became the proverbial bull in the china shop. For example, when we're treading across brand new, beautiful marble flooring that looks like this:

It’s like trying to walk on still water.

Feeling nervous yet?

Let alone a group of filming equipment that needs to be moved around here and there. Filming is all about doing it in the most efficient way possible, but health and safety always precede anything in filming. So, filmmakers are always conscious about doing things carefully.

So, how did we do it?

Pro tip 1: Socks!
Yes, similar to the ones we don on our feet, we improvised and found some mini socks for some of our heavier equipment. They not only make the equipment ridiculously cute (we picked the striped versions for a reason), but also make them safe and scratch proof – bonus points all round. No amount of dragging would damage the flooring, but still, be careful.

Socks! Striped socks, at that.

Pro tip 2: A simple piece of cloth.
If a piece of equipment can’t fit into socks, then laying a piece of cloth down for the equipment would do. It’s that simple! As long as there is something to prevent the equipment from making direct contact with the floor, it would ease the stress of damaging a pristine new apartment's interior.

A saying goes in the film industry: ‘Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.’ There are always new challenges and problems that could arise in a film shoot, sometimes unpredictable, hence our team is always alert and observant. If something is preventable, protective measures would already be in place, but if something unexpected does pop up, it would be dealt with swiftly and effectively.

For this production, we decided to incorporate an additional piece of equipment that we felt would really add value in bringing out the spaciousness and beauty of The Glades.

Meet the DJI Ronin, a handheld 3-axis camera gimbal that allows us to produce fluid and stabilised movement shots while moving freely and origanically around a space. The result: dynamic visuals with cinematic effect.

With our featured profile on a lovely afternoon and a scenic view.

This device, however, is extremely fickle and delicate. High-end as the internal mechanics are, it still takes an experienced crew member to do the calibration and balancing for different combinations of cameras and lenses, for it to perform with the intended precision.

And so it happened that the Ronin decided to be a little moody and erratic on our shoot day (I swear some of our equipment are sentient beings in their own right!) - it was a nerve wrecking moment for everyone on set, as we coaxed, begged even, to get it to cooperate.

The struggle was real.

Perhaps it sensed our sincerity (or desperation?), or maybe it's because of our methodical troubleshooting, the Ronin soon got over itself and rejoined us as part of the team. Which allowed us to proceed with our plan to capture the sweeping shots we had intended that would totally do justice to the space we were in.

We would like to say a big thank you to Keppel Land, as well as the CFU staff from The Glades whom we've had the pleasure to meet and feature in this video.